My mindset is simply to just roll and have fun. And focus on my breathing. Cardio is my killer. 

Excited to see proper form for double legs and no “nose over toes” blind shots. 

I am personally not great at shooting for the legs. That also means I can recognize when someone else isn’t the best either. Timing a good sprawl to a not great entry flips the script from being on the defensive, to being the one taking the back and having the ability to attack….. and turtle opens the door for a Coach Kassidy helicopter choke. 

Much like last week with the hook defense, this is a great school yard bully style technique. Not as much of a sport jiu jitsu move, but this, similar to last week, is a classic self defense style technique that will keep the kids safe should a bully give them trouble on the playground. 

While it sometimes has a negative stigma to it, the guard pull can be an effective way to get the fight to the ground when a student maybe isn’t feeling the most confident about his or her ability to land a takedown. Sometimes pulling guard, establishing control, and then advancing at your own pace is a better game plan. 

The chair sweep is a great reactionary sweep when your opponent stands up. Unlike the scissor sweep, where the person on bottom initiates the sweep, the chair sweep is a good reversal when the top person is standing up in an attempt to likely open the guard and pass. 

Scissor sweep is one of my favorite sweep in jiu jitsu. Especially from a butterfly half. 

If I could go back, I would heel hook my white belt self for not starting when I was way younger. lol. But I would also tell him that even tho it can get hard, this journey will be such a confidence booster and so fun along the way. I would also tell him to eat healthy, lift and get strong, focus on technique,  and individually they will compliment each other. Shout out to Coach Rajwah who is gonna help me lift for 2026. 💪🏻

I personally have not had that problem yet with my son. The boy honestly loves coming and looks forward to it. But, when I hear about a kid wanting to give up in the moment, I usually find it’s due to frustration. Like I’ve mentioned before, I try to make them laugh and forget about what they were concerned with. Usually that little mental break is all it takes to get them back in the right headspace space. 

Of the 2 options for back control escape, bridge and single leg, I’m personally a much bigger fan of bridge. This will be a fun one to try and teach, seeing if the kids can understand the concepts of the escape.